GM saw a 30% rise in OnStar call volume Sunday, mainly from Gulf coast residents fleeing the approach of Hurricane Gustav. GM says it had as many as 500 OnStar advisors helping evacuees — more than 3,000 per hour by Sunday — get directions, find Red Cross shelters and make hotel reservations. Customers pushing the little blue button were also given 30 minutes worth of free airtime to take calls in their cars so family members could get in touch with loved ones. OnStar also had specially trained operators, equipped with evacuation plan data, on duty to take storm-related calls, totaling about 75,000 on Sunday, roughly double the normal volume. If you were one of them, we hope you called early: By the end of the day, advisors were routing customers to hotels in Indiana and Kentucky. We're curious to see whether any subscribers will change to Priceline's new OnStar service. We hear they're claiming they can negotiate better to find them a room closer to Louisiana. Jalopnik Snap Judgment: We love OnStar — GM's perennial positive story. Sure, you may not always get the exact right answer every time you push the blue button, but hey, it's a better concierge service than what you get at most four-star hotels. And we'd certainly rather hear about how OnStar's helping out during a crisis than hearing more about how ten Hummer owners are helping evacuate dogs or something from afflicted areas. [Detroit News; Financial Times (Sub. Req.)]